Argentine ground forces in the Falklands War
This is a list of the ground forces from Argentina that took part in the Falklands War ( ). For a list of ground forces from the United Kingdom, see British ground forces in the Falklands War. Operation Rosario (April 2) on patrol in Stanley, shortly after the invasion]] * Amphibious Task Group 40.1 - Rear Admiral of the Marines Carlos Büsser ** Amphibious Commandos Group, on board the destroyer [[ARA Santísima Trinidad (1974)|''Santisima Trinidad ]] landed at Mullet Creek south of Stanley, in inflatable boats *** 84 men (†one) dubious, more likely 50, too many for a type 42 destroyer plus crew Lieutenant-Commander Sánchez Sabarots. ** ''Buzos Tácticos, on board the submarine ARA Santa Fe, swam ashore. *** 15 frogmen Lieutenant-Commander Alfredo R. Cufré. ** 2nd Marine Infantry Btn. (BIM 2), *** embarked on LST ARA Cabo San Antonio (Q42), they landed in 20 LVTP-7 amphibious, armoured, tracked and five LARC-V wheeled vehiclesMartin Middlebrook: Argentine Fight for the Falklands, 1989, Pen & Sword military classics, ISBN 0-85052-978-6, chapt.: The First Steps to War, p. 19 *** and ARA Almirante Irízar (Q-5), inserted on Stanley airport by SH-3 Sea Kings helicopters **** 500 men ** A 25th Infantry Regiment Company (Argentine Army) airlifted by C-130 South Georgia (April 3) * 1st Marine Infantry Btn. (BIM 1) (†two), embarked ARA Bahia Paraiso transport and ARA Guerrico corvette Lieutenant Guillermo J. Luna. ** 60 men Preparation for war Argentina had seven complete infantry brigades: IV Airborne Infantry Brigade in Córdoba, IX Brigade in the Chubut Province close to the Falklands, the well-equipped VI and VIII Mountain Infantry Brigades along the Chilean border; XI Brigade, (cold-adapted) in the extreme south and the III and X Brigades facing the benign Urugayan border. Two assumptions governed the deployment of the Argentine ground forces on the islands ( ): *the junta did not believe that the British would use military force to retake the islands, so the initial landing force had been withdrawn shortly after April 3, and was not reinforced until after the British recaptured South Georgia. The intent was to place a large number of troops onto the islands to dissuade the British from any military action. As the Royal Navy had submarines patrolling the immediate area, reinforcements had to be airlifted in, which limited the heavy equipment that could be deployed. *an attack was feared from Chile due to the ongoing Beagle Channel dispute, as Chile was marshalling troops close to its Southern Argentine border, the Argentinian High Command had to deploy their better trained forces to deter a Chilean attack. As a result neither the mountain warfare regiments, nor a paratroop brigade were available. Furthermore, only one fifth of the cold-adapted marine infantry was sent to the islands. The majority of the troops deployed were from sub-tropical areas, the Argentine Mesopotamia region and Buenos Aires Province, and not trained for action in the terrain (they were trained to avoid snakes and sunstroke, not frostbite). These two incorrect assumptions led to inappropriate troops being sent to the islands.Commodore Ruben Oscar Moro La Guerra Inaudita, 2000 ISBN 987-96007-3-8 In the Argentine Army the entire stock of conscripts was changed over at New Year. Soldados Clase ’63 (SC 63) were conscripts born in 1963. On April 2, 1982 SC 63 had had three months of boot camp. The army tried to replace SC 63 with the newly demobilized SC '62 by the time the British arrived.Martin Middlebrook: "The Argentine fight for the Malvinas - The Argentine Forces in the Falklands War", Pen and Sword Books, 1989, ISBN 0-670-82106-3, p. 51: Every Argentine young man became liable for a twelve-month period of military service in the year that he celebrated his 19th birthday. The military year in Argentina began in January when the regiments received the young conscripts. During the year the recruits were trained and released in the last months of that annum. Soldados Clase ’63 were conscripts born in 1963. It was possible to wait up to seven years for military service, so Soldados Clase ’59 in 1982 were both lingering conscripts and recalled reservists. Since SC ’63 only had four months of training, the army tried to replace them with SC ’62 reservists and two-thirds had been changed by the time the British arrived. Theatre of Operations in the Falkland Islands (April 7 – June 14) Guarnición Militar Malvinas * Commander: Brigade General Mario Menendez (governor). RI (Infantry Regiments) were about 800 men. 3rd Mechanised Infantry Brigade Agrupación Litoral'' (Coastal Sector)' Martin Middlebrook: ''Argentine Fight for the Falklands, 1989, Pen & Sword military classics, ISBN 0-85052-978-6, chapt. The British Are Coming, p. 63 Commander: Brigade General Omar Parada. Brigade home base: Mesopotamia * 4th Regiment (RI 4) — Mount Harriet and Two Sisters (Stanley) (†23 and 121 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) ** Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Diego A. Soria. * 12th Regiment (RI 12) — Goose Green and Darwin (East Falkland) (†35 and 72 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) ** Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Italo A. Piaggi. * West Falkland ** 5th Regiment (RI 5) — Port Howard (†eight and 67 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) *** Commander: Colonel Juan R. Mabragaña ** 8th Regiment, 9th Infantry Brigade (RI 8) — Fox Bay '' (†five and 51 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) *** Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Ernesto A. Repossi. 10th Mechanised Infantry Brigade 'Agrupación Puerto Argentino (Stanley Sector)' Commander: Brigade General Oscar Jofre. Brigade home base: Buenos Aires Province * 3rd Regiment (RI 3) — ''Stanley - aborted urban warfare (†five and 85 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) ** Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel David U. Comini. * 6th Regiment (RI 6) — Stanley Common (†12 and 35 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) ** Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Jorge Halperin. * 7th Regiment (RI 7) — Mount Longdon and Wireless Ridge (Stanley) (†36 and 152 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) ** Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Omar Giménez. * 25th Infantry Regiment (Argentina) (RI 25), 9th Infantry Brigade (attach to 10th Brigade) — Stanley Airport, Goose Green and San Carlos (†13 and 67 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) ** Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Mohamed A. Seineldin. * Panhard Armoured Cars Squadron (Esc Panhard/Destacamento de Exploración de Caballería Blindada 181), 9th Infantry Brigade (attached to 10th Infantry Brigade) - Moody Brook ** Commander: Major Alejandro D. Carullo. ** 12×Panhard Armoured Car 90 mm. * 10th Armoured Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (dismounted), 10th Infantry Brigade (attached to reserve) - Moody Brook (†six and 68 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) ** Commander: Captain Rodrigo A. Soloaga. Artillery * 3rd Artillery GroupGrupo= three batteries ≈ artillery regiment (GA3), 3rd Infantry Brigade (†two and 21 wounded) ** Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Martín A. Balza ** 18 105 mm OTO Melara Mod 56 field guns (Stanley and Goose Green). ** 2 x SOFMA 155mm L33 Guns airlifted from May 15 (from the 101st Artillery Group) (Stanley). * 4th Airborne Artillery Group (GA4), 4th Airborne Brigade (†3 and 42 wounded) (Stanley). ** Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Carlos A. Quevedo ** 18 105 mm guns. Miscellaneous Army Troops I Corps * 181st Military Police and Intelligence Coy (Stanley). Army Chief of Staff Troops * 601st Engineer battalion (BI-601) (†one and 10 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) (Fitz Roy bridge demolition) ** Commander: Major Jorge L. A. Etienot. ** 9th Engineer company *** Commander: Major Oscar M. Lima. ** 10th Engineer company (†one and five wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) *** Commander: Major Carlos R. Matalon. * 601st CommandoMartin Middlebrook: "The Argentine fight for the Malvinas - The Argentine Forces in the Falklands War", Pen and Sword Books, 1989, ISBN 0-670-82106-3, p. 62 "The Argentine army did not have Special Forces. In the early 70s commandos were formed but subsequently disbanded because of the fear of the highly trained groups being used in a coup d’état. In 1975 they were reformed for the 'dirty' war and disbanded again after participating in security during the 1978 Football World Cup. The trained commandos were dispersed throughout the army. About 80 men were assembled in the 601st and 602nd Commando companies and send to the Falkland Islands. They were beefed up with SWAT-like teams from the Gendarmería Nacional – paramilitary frontier guards." Port Howard and Murrell River ** Commander: Major Mario Castagneto * 602nd Commando Mount Kent (†five and seven wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) ** Commander: Major Aldo Rico. * 601 Combat Aviation Battalion (Batallón de Aviación de Combate 601) See 601 Assault Helicopter Battalion Marines * 5th Marine Infantry Btn. (BIM 5) attached to Army — ''Mount Tumbledown, Mount William and Sapper Hill (Stanley) (†16 and 68 woundedHistoria Marítima Argentina, Volume 10, p. 137, Argentina. Departamento de Estudios Históricos Navales, Cuántica Editora, 1993) ** Commander: Capitan de fragata (commander) Carlos Hugo Robacio. * Heavy Machine-Gun Company; twenty-seven 12,7 mm ** Commander: teniente de navio Sergio Dachary. Stanley Common (†seven and 17 wounded Desde El Frente: Batallon de Infanteria de Marina No. 5, Carlos Hugo Robacio, Jorge Hernández, p. 380, Centro Naval, Instituto de Publicaciones Navales, 1996) * Amphibious Engineer Company Stanley Common (†four) ** Commander: capitan de corbeta Luis A. Menghini *1st Marine Field Artillery Battalion's B Battery (Batería B/BlAC) Stanley Common (†two and two wounded) * Commander: teniente de navio Mario R. Abadal ** 1,800 men * Dog section Naval Base Puerto Belgrano Teniente de fragata Miguel A. Paz https://archive.is/20130421172156/img836.imageshack.us/img836/8921/f1000051.jpg Perros en MalvinasLos Perros de Malvinas ** 18 dogs (†two), 22 men Gendarmería (Border Guards) '''''Compañía de Fuerzas Especiales 601 de Gendarmería Nacional The following Gendarmeria units were operational in the Falklands: *Special Forces Units: (†seven) '' six died in the same Puma crash, May 30'' **Squadron Atucha - Mount Kent (East Falkland). **Squadron Bariloche. **Squadron Calafate. **Squadron Esquel - Smoko Mount (East Falkland). Air defences Army *601st Air defence artillery group (GADA-601). (†six and 23 wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) 4 by Shrike 3rd June ** Commander: Lieutenant-Colonel Héctor L. Arias. ** One Cardion TPS-44 long range radar. ** One Roland SAM system. ** Four Tigercat SAM triple launchers. ** Six Skyguard fire control radars each controlling two Oerlikon GDF-002 35 mm twin cannons.One Skyguard radar and two GDF-002 35 mm twin cannons deployed to BAM Cóndor/Goose Green) ** Total of 12 x GDF-002 35 mm twin cannons for the Argentine Army. Three x GDF-002 35 mm twin cannons for the (FAA) Air Force. The FAA Oerlikon GDF-002 guns were sited on the Southwest side of Port Stanley Airport. ** Three Oerlikon 20 mm single barrel Anti-Aircraft Cannons. *B Battery, 101st Anti-Aircraft group (GADA 101), I Corps.(†three and nine wounded Informe Oficial del Ejército Argentino: Conflicto Malvinas; (Volume II, annex 64); Buenos Aires., 1983.) ** Commander: Major Jorge Monge. ** eight 30 mm Hispano Suiza guns. ** ten 12.7 mm machine guns. *Some Infantry units ** Blowpipe shoulder fired SAMs. Air Force from Goose Green in the Imperial War Museum]] * Stanley Airfield defence group. * Goose Green Airfield defence group. (BAM Cóndor). * Special Operations Group. ** One Westinghouse TPS-43F long range radar. ** Three x Oerlikon twin 35 mm guns. ** One Super Fledermaus fire control radar. ** One Elta short ranged radar. ** 15 Rheinmetall Rh-202 twin 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. (nine deployed close-in to the Port Stanley Airport runway. Six deployed to Goose Green Airfield). ** A number of SA-7 man portable short ranged SAMs. Navy * 1st Marine Anti-Aircraft Battalion Stanley Common (†2). ** Commander: capitan de corbeta Hector E. Silva . ** Three Tigercat SAM triple launchers. ** 12 Hispano HS-831 30 mm anti-aircraft guns. Infantry weapons Sterling submachine gun, used by commandos in Operation Rosario]] , showing an Argentine mortar]] * Personal Weapons ** Browning Hi-Power ** FM PA3-DM ** M3A1 "Grease Gun" ** L34A1 Sterling ** FM FAL 50.61 ** FM FAL 50.41 ** Mauser M1909, not used * Support Weapons ** FM FAP ** FM MAG ** Browning M2HB ** 90 mm Recoilless Rifle ** FM 60 mm Mortar ** FM 81 mm Mortar ** FM 120 mm Mortar ** Blowpipe MANPADS (Man Portable Air-Defence System) * Anti-personnel mines ** FMK1 (mine) ** No. 4 ** P4B ** SB33 * Anti-tank mines ** C3B ** FMK3 ** M1 ** No. 6 ** SB81 Casualties *Argentine Army: 194 (16 officers, 35 NCOs and 143 conscripts) **list Argentine Army casualties *Argentine Navy : 34 Marines (one officer, three NCOs and 30 conscripts) *Gendarmería Nacional Argentina: seven commandos (two officers, four NCOs and one gendarme) References * The Battle For The Falklands, Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins, ISBN 0-330-35284-9 * Falklands Air War, Chris Hobson, ISBN 1-85780-126-1 * The Falklands War 1982, Duncan Anderson, ISBN 1-84176-422-1 * Argentine Order of Battle External links * Argentine Defences on the Falklands Category:Falklands War Category:Orders of battle